


Keep Persevering

by UntidyCeiling



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: 2k12, Angst, Dealing with the Death of Master Splinter, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional pain, End of Requiem, Gen, Just a lot of emotional trauma, Right before Owari, You'll find out who's the "mysterious" character at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:34:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29059086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UntidyCeiling/pseuds/UntidyCeiling
Summary: This right after Requiem when Master Splinter dies and leaves his sons to grieve... especially one son.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Keep Persevering

**Author's Note:**

> I was watching the episode Requiem and was thinking to myself, 'man, they kinda skip the gut-wrenching parts' so I decided to write this. Just for fun. ;)

The wind brushed across his face, feeling cold against his sweaty skin and the tears that leaked out behind his mask. His lungs were screaming for air but he couldn’t stop running. He couldn’t. Stop. Running. 

Above him were stars that shone through the polluted sky, following him as he sprang off of a building in Eastside Manhattan and soared through the air before landing on another building fifteen feet below. And even though his feet stung from the impact, he kept running. Nothing could stop him. Nothing. 

His father was dead. 

Sobs snagged in his throat while the tears streaked down his skin. He went faster, feeling the burn of his muscles consuming him. They wanted him to stop, screaming for him to slow down and rest. He wouldn’t. 

He was the Sensei now.

He pushed his limbs to go faster. He couldn’t breathe! That didn’t matter. 

His father told him to listen to his heart, but he didn’t. Why didn’t he listen to his heart!?

His arms flew forward and backward as he moved through the night. His body physically hurt, but it was nothing compared to how he felt on the inside. 

He was the leader! He was supposed to protect his family but he failed! He failed and now his father was dead!

He could hear nothing except his own heartbeat as it thumped painfully in his head, echoing in his ears with each pulse. The buildings, the street below, the continuous stream of cars, everything was a single blur, something he couldn’t make out as he flew from one building to the next.

They expected him to lead them. They expected him to be the Sensei. They expected him to carry on and move forward. How was he supposed to lead a broken team when he was not okay?!

He was getting closer to the East River as it glistened black under the night sky. And even though he was running as fast as he could, it wasn’t fast enough.

He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t. Do. This!

Twenty yards. Ten yards. Two yards. 

He forced his protesting muscles to leap off the building and plunged towards the black river, watching as he came closer, closer, closer until the water swallowed him whole with one soft splash. 

It was cold as he sunk below the waves while tiny bubbles from the impact bubbled up around him. And he let himself float an inch below the water as he screwed up his eyes and screamed.

And screamed...

And screamed.

Why!? Why did his father have to die?! Why couldn’t his father have stayed at the Lair and not fought the Shredder?! Why did Splinter split their little team in half!? And why did  _ he _ agree to leave his father when he knew deep down that he shouldn’t!? WHY?! WHY?! WHY!? 

Large pockets of air formed around his mouth and drifted to the surface where they burst once they touched the surface. And still, he kept screaming. He went until all the oxygen in his lungs disappeared and they craved for more. He went until he couldn’t scream anymore. And he went until he was positive he’d drown if he didn’t come up for air. Once he was at that point, he pushed himself through the water and gasped loudly once he broke the surface. 

He couldn’t do this…

He couldn’t…

He could—n’t. . .

Water lapped at his tears as he floated, arms sprawled out and gently treading the water. The moonlight trickled down and landed on his plastron as he took slow breaths. And while he laid there, his thoughts wandered back to his brothers; Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. They needed him. They were counting on him to lead the remains of their shattered team. They were relying on him to get them through this dark time. 

He took a slow breath and closed his eyes. The water wasn’t as cold anymore but it still felt nice against his aching muscles. 

Master Splinter...

His thoughts switched over to his Sensei, the man he loved and looked up to. Splinter was his everything. A role model, a leader, and most of all, his father... And his father lost everything; his wife, his daughter, his clan, his home, and his country. Hamato Yoshi had nothing and still, he got on his own two feet and did what he could to keep moving forward. It wasn’t easy, but he did, and if he could then Leonardo could too. 

Leo slowly opened his eyes and turned his gaze to the heavens. Sadness still ate away at his chest but there was a small sense of peace warming his soul. And even though he wasn't entirely sure if he could do this, Leo was going to try. His father didn’t give up and neither was he. He was going to lead the broken remains of his team. He was going to pick up the pieces and put them back together. And he was going to keep persevering no matter what. 

And that’s exactly what he did. 

  
  
  



End file.
